Twelve individuals from all around the world, including the Judge and former chief of the Judicial Appointments Council in Albania Ardian Dvorani, were recognized with the International Anticorruption Champions Award, by the U.S Secretary of State Blinken. Arguing the motivations behind the award to Dvorani, the U.S Department of State said that he is “a key proponent of reforming Albania’s judicial system. Judge Dvorani developed mechanisms to reduce political and criminal influence in the justice system, steps that contributed to the EU’s decision in March to open negotiations for Albania’s accession,” said the statement.
The statement from the Department continued by adding that “Judge Dvorani was also an essential member of the group of experts who developed the vision and legal provisions for Albania’s justice reform, helping to combat corruption and protect Albania’s nascent judicial institutions after sweeping constitutional changes to Albania’s justice sector in 2016. His insight led to constitutional protections for Albania’s new anticorruption body, the Special Structure Against Organized Crime and Corruption.”
Judge Dvorani is a well-known figure in Albania. Beyond his contribution to the judicial reform, in the last years, he has been mentioned on various occasions for his clash with President Meta. From 2019, Meta accused Dvorani of trying to take over the powers to appoint members of the Constitutional Court. The President in 2020 also filed a complaint in SPAK against Dvorani, accusing him of “abuse of office” and “appropriation of state title or office.” President Meta meanwhile reacted today to the news indirectly by publishing a photo on his social media pages with the caption: “25 April – Albania of Albanians, and NEVER of oligarchs and the international mafia.”
